Meet Adrian, one of our dedicated community allotment volunteers.

Adrian has attended the community allotment every week for numerous years, and is also a regular visitor of RHS Wisley. On a visit to Wisley a few years ago, he was inspired by the American prairie beds they had created around the lake of the greenhouse. It was there that Adrian fell in love with the bright yellow flowers of the Silphium, so bought some seeds and took on the challenge of growing his own!

Initially, he had little success, until suddenly one seed turned into a little plant and began to grow. Three years on, those little green shoots have grown to almost 8ft thanks to Adrian’s care and commitment.

Silphium is often known for its ancient species, which is now believed to be extinct. At the time, this species of Silphium was as valuable as gold, and was sung about in Roman poems and songs. Unfortunately, it went extinct in the Roman era due to being overused.

Luckily, Adrian’s species of Silphium has been much more fortunate! His hard work means they are now thriving in our community allotments.

Thank you Adrian!

For more information about how Walton Charity uses its green spaces to provide opportunities like this to grow spectacular plants, or to read more about our fantastic team of volunteers, read here.